Integrated process and unit operation for conditioning a soot-containing syngas

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a method for conditioning a soot-containing syngas stream in a single integrated apparatus containing a scrubbing vessel wherein particulate matter is decoupled from the waste water stream.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of prior U.S. application Ser. No.15/678,564, filed Aug. 16, 2017, which is incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method for conditioning asoot-containing syngas stream in a single integrated apparatuscontaining a scrubbing vessel wherein particulate matter removal isdecoupled from the waste water stream. More specifically, the processand apparatus of the invention is compact, less complex, generates fewerwaste water streams and concentrates the waste product such that it canbe easily handled and disposed of.

Description of Related Art

Partial oxidation based gasifiers generate synthesis gases (hereinafter,referred to as “syngas(es)”)—is mixtures of H₂, CO, CO₂, CH₄, andH₂O—containing particulate matter (e.g., soot, refractory dust) andtrace, undesirable by-products including ammonia (NH₃) and hydrogencyanide (HCN) that must be removed prior to the syngas being furtherprocessed to produce purified hydrogen and CO or a chemical-grade syngasfor fuels and chemical production. Processes for the removal ofparticulate matter and NH₃ are considered in the related art, but theseprocesses achieve the required separation as a series of sequentialseparation processes essentially removing one contaminant at a time.These approaches ultimately lead to undue process complexity, numerouswaste streams with differing compositions, and a high capital expense.

In a typical separation process such as the one described in U.S. Pat.No. 4,110,359 to Marion for the production of a cleaned and purifiedsynthesis gas, requires a particulate matter scrubbing and gas coolingprocess. The process described is a conventional syngas scrubbing andcooling with a simplified flowsheet, as shown in FIG. 1. Entrainedparticulate matter is removed from the produced synthesis gas stream(36) by contacting the synthesis gas stream and a water stream (37) inan orifice or venturi scrubber (38). The gas-liquid mixture (39) isdisengaged in a separation vessel (40) with the particulate matter goingwith the water (45) and exiting the bottom of the separation vessel.Cleaned gas (48) exits the top of the separation vessel and is cooledbelow the dew point in a heat exchanger (50) by indirect heat exchangewith cold water (51, 52). Cooled stream (53) is routed to a condensateknockout pot (54) where the condensed liquid (55) leaves through thebottom of the vessel and the cleaned, cooled synthesis gas (56) exitsfrom the top of the vessel. The process described by Marion consists ofat least 3 separate process steps (38, 39, 50, 56) and generates twowastewater steams (45, 55).

U.S. Pat. No. 4,189,307 to Marion describes a process for the productionof a clean, HCN-free syngas. A cooled, particulate-laden syngas streamhaving a temperature in the range of 300° F. to 900° F. is fed to a sootscrubbing column having a counter-current flow of process water enteringthe column operates at a temperature in the range of ambient to 250° F.to remove effectively all of the particulate matter from the syngasstream. In addition to scrubbing, the process water also cools thesyngas stream to 212° F. to 600° F. The particulate-laden process waterstream exits the bottom of the soot scrubber at a temperature in therange of 212 to 600° F. and is sent to a carbon separation andconcentration zone. The cleaned syngas stream exits the soot scrubberand is routed to a series of at least two indirect heat exchangers tolower the temperature of the syngas stream below the dew point (ambientto 150° F.) producing a two phase stream.

Condensate is separated from the cooled and cleaned syngas in a knockoutpot with the syngas being fed to a HCN-absorption zone and at least aportion of the process condensate being utilized as the process water inthe soot scrubber. This Marion document teaches that the soot scrubbingcolumn performs two roles: 1) particulate matter removal and 2) gascooling. Further it teaches that the water-soluble contaminants such asNH₃ and HCN would not be effectively scrubbed from the syngas stream inthe soot scrubber due to low solubility at the temperatures of theprocess water stream exiting the bottom of the column. As such, oneskilled in the art, including the inventor of U.S. Pat. No. 4,189,307,would understand that the syngas stream exiting the soot scrubber wouldcontain substantially all of the water-soluble contaminants. The processdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,189,307 consists of at least 4 separateprocess steps and generates two wastewater streams.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,137 to Richter further discloses a process where thequenched syngas is brought into contact with a process water stream andpassed through a conventional Venturi-type scrubber to remove entrainedparticulate matter. The resulting gas-liquid mixture is disengaged in aseparation vessel with the particulate matter going with the water andexiting the bottom of the separation vessel. The syngas stream exitingthe top of the separation vessel is subsequently partitioned with aportion being sent to a series of three indirect heat exchangers coupledwith three condensate knockout pots to produce a cooled syngas having atemperature in the range of ambient to 150° F. The cleaned and cooledsyngas stream exits the top of the third and final knockout pot. Thecondensate streams from the first two knockout pots are combined andreturned to the separator vessel described above as a washwater toimprove particulate matter removal. The condensate from the third andfinal knockout pot contains water-soluble contaminants, including HCN,COS, formic acid, and mixtures thereof, which can be returned to theprocess, vaporized, and the contaminants converted to either more easilyhandled contaminants or destroyed in a conventional water-gas shiftreactor. The syngas scrubbing process described in U.S. Pat. No.4,704,137 consists of at least three process steps and at least eightunit operations.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,379 to Wallace et al. discloses a system forquenching and scrubbing particulate matter and NH₃ from a hot partialoxidation gas stream via a multiple step system consisting of ascrubbing tower for particulate removal, a system of heat exchangers incombination with two or less knockout drums, and a water wash column forNH₃ scrubbing. The process described in this document performs theseprocess steps or operations in a sequential series leading to a processrequiring a minimum of three separate process vessels and generating aminimum of two process wastewater streams.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0000779 A1 to Kowolldescribes a process in which a raw syngas obtained from the gasificationof coal is scrubbed of particulate matter and partially scrubbed ofwater-soluble contaminants to produce a cleaned syngas. The raw syngasstream is mixed with a process water stream in a Venturi scrubber withthe combined fluid stream being passed to a droplet precipitator orcyclone to disengage the particulate matter-bearing process water fromthe raw syngas stream. The raw syngas stream is subsequently passed to awashing tower to remove solid fine particles and partially scrubwater-soluble contaminants from the syngas stream. The scrubbed syngasstream is then preheated and fed to a CO conversion device to adjustingthe H₂/CO ratio for downstream processing. The syngas scrubbing processdescribed by Kowoll consists of at least three separate process stepsthat are operated at temperatures above which the water-solublecontaminants such as NH₃ and HCN will not be effectively scrubbed fromthe syngas stream.

All of the foregoing related art discusses particulate matter removal,gas cooling, and scrubbing of water-soluble contaminants from syngasstreams as a complex multi-step process performed sequentially inseveral process units.

To overcome the disadvantages of the related art, it is an object of thepresent invention to provide a process and unit operation thatintegrates the syngas conditioning steps of i) particulate matterremoval, ii) ammonia removal, iii) process gas cooling, and iv)condensate knockout into a single process unit operation. The proposedsyngas conditioning system has numerous benefits compared to theconventional process system because it performs numerous process stepsin a single process vessel and decouples particulate matter removal fromthe waste water system which effectively eliminates a waste waterstream. Additionally, indirect process gas heat exchangers for syngascooling are replaced with direct contact cooling for syngas and highlyefficient liquid-liquid heat exchangers for heat rejection which has theadded benefit of reducing the capital investment and process footprint.

An additional benefit of the proposed integrated process and unitoperation is a reduction in the quantity of waste water rejected fromthe system due to the decoupling of the particulate matter and waterrejection mechanisms. In conventional processes, the concentration ofparticulate matter in the process water is controlled by rejecting wastewater from the system. In the proposed integrated process, particulatematter removal and waste water rejection are decoupled as particulatematter is removed from the process by a mechanical means that isindependent of the disposal of waste water. This has the effect ofdramatically reducing the amount of waste water rejected from theprocess and further, a significant reduction in the amount of fresh,high-quality make up water can be realized. Reducing the quantity andcomplexity of the waste water stream has the benefit of simplifying andreducing the scale of the waste water treatment system.

Other objects and aspects of the present invention will become apparentto one of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the specification,drawings and claims appended hereto.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the invention, integrated process forconditioning a soot-containing synthesis gas stream, comprising:

introducing a raw soot-containing synthesis gas having particulatematter and gaseous contaminants therein at a temperature of less thanabout 900° F. into a quenching device to reduce the temperature of saidsynthesis gas to a range of about 250-400° F., thereby forming atwo-phase stream;

routing the two-phase stream through a first scrubber device tosubstantially transfer majority of particulate matter from the gas phaseto the liquid phase;

directing said two-phase stream to a second scrubbing device wherein thetwo-phase stream is separated into a water phase fluid contaminated withparticulate matter and a gas phase fluid having water-solublecontaminants at a lower section of the scrubbing device;

cleaning and cooling the gas phase fluid having water-solublecontaminants in an upper section of the second scrubbing device wherethe gas phase fluid comes in direct contact with cooled process waterdispensed through a spray nozzle device thereby reducing the temperatureof the gas phase fluid below the dew point temperature and removingwater soluble impurities and remaining particulate matter therefrom;

further routing the cooled and cleaned gas phase fluid of step (d)through a mist eliminating device disposed in the upper section of thesecond scrubbing device to remove substantially all of the remainingentrained water droplets, thereby producing a cooled and substantiallysoot free synthesis gas stream.

According to another aspect of the invention, integrated unit operationfor conditioning a soot-containing synthesis gas stream, comprising:

a quenching device, wherein a raw soot-containing synthesis gas havingparticulate matter and gaseous contaminants having a temperature of lessthan 900° F. is introduced and the temperature of the soot-containingsynthesis gas is reduced to a temperature ranging from 250-400° F.thereby forming a two-phase stream;

a first scrubbing device for receiving the cooled two-phase stream,wherein said device is selected from the group of Venturi scrubbers,Venturi tubes, orifice plate, atomizers;

a second scrubbing device for receiving the two-phase stream where it isseparated into a water phase fluid contaminated with particulate matterand a gas phase fluid having water-soluble contaminants in the lowersection of the scrubbing device;

a spray nozzle device disposed in an upper section of the secondscrubbing device to clean the gas phase fluid by bringing said gas phasefluid in direct contact with cooled process water dispensed through saidspray nozzle device, thereby reducing the temperature of the gas phasefluid below the dew temperature and removing the water-solublecontaminants therefrom;

a mist eliminating device above the spray nozzle device in the uppersection of the second scrubbing device for the removal of substantiallyall of the remaining entrained water droplets in the gas phase fluidrising to the top of the scrubber device, thereby producing a cooled andsubstantially soot free synthesis gas stream.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The objects and advantages of the invention will be better understoodfrom the following detailed description of the preferred embodimentsthereof in connection with the accompanying figures wherein like numbersdenote same features throughout and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a the related art process flow diagram of U.S. Pat. No.4,110,359;

FIG. 2 illustrates the integrated process and operation unit forconditioning a soot-containing synthesis gas stream in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a process flow diagram of illustrating another embodiment ofthe integrated process and operation unit of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 depicts another embodiment of the of the integrated process andoperation unit of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides for the conditioning (or cleaning) of asyngas stream generated from a steam methane reformer, partial oxidationunit, auto thermal reformer or combinations thereof processing ahydrocarbon containing feedstock. The syngas stream generated istypically a mixture of H₂, CO, CO₂, CH₄, H₂O, that contains particulatematter (e.g., soot, refractory dust, etc.) and trace, undesirablecontaminants including ammonia (NH₃) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN) thatmust be removed prior to being further processed to produce purifiedhydrogen and CO or a chemical-grade syngas for fuels and chemicalproduction.

Particulate matter (referred, at times, simply as “PM”) must be removedfrom the produced syngas to eliminate the potential for eroding andclogging process equipment including heat exchangers, piping, processvalves and critical safety equipment such as pressure relief valves. Ifnot substantially removed prior to cooling the syngas stream below itsdew point, PM will contaminate produced condensate streams andpotentially enter the process water streams, which are commonly reusedin numerous process operations. Further, PM is a known cause for foamingand flooding in downstream processes such as CO₂ scrubbing units thatcan lead to poor unit operation and ultimately costly plant outages.Water-soluble contaminants including NH₃, HCN, CHOOH, HCl, H₂S, COS, areproduced during the production or processing of syngas via undesirablereactions. These species must be removed from the syngas before finalprocess as they are contaminants or poisons to downstream process units.

The present invention has application to hot raw soot-containing syngasstreams with a temperature in the range of about 300 to 900° F., andpreferably 350° F. to 600° F. The pressure of these streams can rangefrom about 1 to 600 psig, and preferably 300 to 500 psig. The gascomposition of the hot raw syngas stream by volume on a dry basis istypically: 50 to 75% H₂, 20 to 45% CO, 1 to 10% CO₂, 0.1 to 5% CH₄, 0-1%N₂, 0-1% Ar, 0-1% of small hydrocarbons including, for example, C₂H₂,C₂H₄, C₂H₆, C₃H₆, 0 to 500 ppmv NH₃, 0 to 100 ppmv HCN, 0 to 10 ppmvH₂S, and 0 to 5 ppmv COS. The raw syngas stream may also contain 0 to500 mg/Nm³ of particulate matter consisting primarily of soot derivedfrom the hydrocarbon feedstock and refractory dust originating fromupstream process equipment.

With reference to the embodiment of FIG. 2 of the integrated process andunit operation of the present invention, hot raw soot-containing syngasstream (1) containing particulate matter and gaseous contaminants isrouted to quenching device (100) where it is brought into intimatecontact with a process water stream (2) such that the hot raw syngas iscooled, typically to a temperature in the range of about 250 to 400° F.The syngas stream is effectively saturated with water, containingatomized water droplets, and thereby forms a two-phase (i.e., liquid andgas) stream. This can be achieved by spraying the process water into thehot raw syngas stream in a manner similar to that described in U.S. Pat.No. 5,512,085. The quenched raw syngas and excess liquid water are thenfed to a first orifice or Venturi-type first scrubber device (110) inwhich atomized water droplets collide forming small water droplets thatwet and collect on the PM in the raw syngas creating much largerdroplets that are easily disengaged from the gas stream. A process waterstream (2) is introduced at a rate sufficient to effectively saturatethe hot syngas stream (1) with water and provide atomized waterdroplets. The two phase stream (3) is then directed to the bottom of asecond scrubbing vessel (120) to separate the essentially PM-free syngas(4) from the PM-laden process water (5). The bottom portion of thescrubbing vessel (120) is designed with the intent of not onlyseparating the gas (having water-soluble contaminants) and liquid(contaminated with PM) phases but also effectively disengaging theentrained droplets from the syngas stream. The bottom portion can be acyclonic separator or simply a large diameter vessel. Essentially all ofthe PM is removed from the syngas stream, typically greater than 98%,and concentrates in the circulating process water stream. A pump (150)is provided to return a first portion of process water in the bottom ofthe scrubbing vessel (120) to the quenching device (100) and the firstscrubber device (110) via conduits (2).

A second portion of the PM-laden process water in the bottom of thescrubbing vessel (120) is routed to a filtration system (170) via pump(160) to remove PM producing a process water stream (6) that issubstantially free of PM. A substantial portion of the PM-free processwater (7) is cooled in an indirect heat exchanger (180) to a temperaturein the range of about ambient to 150° F. and brought into intimatecontact with the PM-free syngas (4) in the top portion of the scrubbingvessel (120).

As shown in FIG. 2, intimate contact is achieved by spraying the cooledprocess water (8) directly into the PM-free syngas (4) via a spraynozzle device (125). Direct contact cooling effectively reduces thetemperature of the gas stream below its dew point leading to asubstantial reduction in the water content of the PM-free syngas. Inaddition, water-soluble contaminants, remaining entrained PM, andentrained water droplets are effectively scrubbed from the PM-freesyngas. The flow rate of the cooled process water stream (8) is set suchthat the temperature of the cleaned and cooled syngas (9) is reducedbelow the dew point and preferably below 150° F. and that essentiallyall of the NH₃ in the syngas is scrubbed. The cooled and cleaned syngas(9) passes through a mist eliminating device (140) disposed at a top ofthe scrubbing vessel (120), and above spray nozzle device (125) toremove entrained water droplets. A second set of spray nozzles (130) maybe included to wash the surface of the mist eliminating device (140) toensure that it remains wet and free of PM. Fresh make-up water (10) andor cooled, PM-free process water (11) can be used as the wash water.Fresh water (10) preferably being a high-quality water containing nodissolved gases, for example a deaerated reverse osmosis (RO)-qualitywater stream, in the temperature range of ambient to 150° F. ispreferred as it will be PM free and contain no water-solublecontaminants (e.g., NH₃ and HCN) thus providing a final scrubbing of thesyngas stream.

The transfer of heat, particulate matter, and water soluble gases can bepromoted between the gas and liquid phases by the addition of structuredpacking, random packing, or trays located, but not shown, in theinterstitial space below the spray nozzle devices (125) and/or (130).

After passing through the mist eliminating device (140), the cooled andcleaned syngas (12) is suitable for downstream processing. The cooledand cleaned syngas (12) streams will have a temperature in the range ofabout ambient to 150° F., and preferably 100° F. to 140° F., a pressurein the range of about 1 to 600 psig, and preferably 300 to 500 psig. Thegas composition of the hot raw syngas stream by volume on a dry basis isas follows: 50 to 75% H₂, 20 to 45% CO, 1 to 10% CO₂, 0.1 to 5% CH₄,0-1% N₂, 0-1% Ar, 0-1% of small hydrocarbons including, for example.C₂H₂, C₂H₄, C₂H₆, C₃H₆, 0 to 5 ppmv NH₃, 0 to 100 ppmv HCN, 0 to 10 ppmvH₂S, and 0 to 5 ppmv COS. The cleaned and cooled syngas stream may alsocontain 0 to 10 mg/Nm3 of particulate matter.

Since the cleaned and cooled syngas (12) has a lower water content thanthe hot, raw syngas (1), water is produced and must be extracted fromthe scrubbing vessel (120) to maintain a neutral water balance. In thesystem of this embodiment, process water (13) is withdrawn from theprocess. Process water exits the syngas conditioning section and iseither recycled to a dirty steam system for generation of process steam,sent to a high-pressure process condensate stripper for production of aclean steam product, or sent to a waste water system for disposal.Alternatively, a portion of the PM-laden process water (2) can bewithdrawn from the process via (14) and routed to other process sectionsfor example to a gasifier quench, filtration system or process wastewater treatment system for disposal.

The temperature of the accumulated process water in the second scrubbingvessel (120) is preferentially maintained below 150° F. such that asignificant portion of the water-soluble contaminants, particularly NH₃,can be essentially removed due to the high solubility of NH₃ in waterand particularly cold water. NH₃ will be scrubbed from the syngas streamin the direct contact cooling zone of soot scrubber (120) andaccumulates in the circulating process water.

Filtration system (170) can be any number of suitable physicalseparation processes including for example mechanical filters orhydrocyclones coupled with filters. The location of the filtrationsystem (170) is provided only as an example and numerous other locationsand variations on relative position and number of the filter devicescould be arranged. Filtration, or physical separation, of the PM fromthe process water enables the combining of (i.e., soot water and processcondensate) and reuse of the entire process water stream in clean ordirty steam systems, which effectively eliminates a waste water productfrom the syngas conditioning system compared to prior art processes.Further, filtration is beneficial as it decouples PM removal from thelevel control in the scrubbing vessel (120), which is also used tomaintain the water balance in the syngas conditioning system.

The addition of a particulate matter removal device (170) decouplesparticulate matter removal and waste water rejection mechanism.Particulate matter removal and waste water rejection are decoupled asparticulate matter is removed from the process by a mechanical meansthat is independent of the disposal of waste water. This has the effectof dramatically reducing the amount of waste water rejected from theprocess and further, a significant reduction in the amount of fresh,high-quality make up water (10) can be realized.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, and as illustratedin FIG. 3, PM-laden process water is extracted from the bottom of thesecond scrubbing vessel (120) via a pump (150) and cooled in an indirectheat exchanger (200) such that the temperature of stream 41 is in therange of about ambient to 150° F. The cooled PM-laden stream (41) issplit with a portion being returned to the quenching device (100) viaconduit (2), and a portion (42) being further split with a large portion(43), which is returned to the top portion of the scrubbing vessel(120). On the other hand, a smaller portion (44) is routed to filtrationsystem (170) to remove PM, producing a process water stream (45) that issubstantially free thereof. The filtration system (170) is optional.

Another exemplary embodiment of the integrated process and unitoperation is shown with reference to FIG. 4. The process is very similarto that provided in FIG. 2, where the addition of a mechanism forphysically separating (135) the PM-laden process water in the bottomportion of the scrubbing column (120) and the essentially PM-freecooling and scrubbing water in the top portion of the scrubbing column.The addition this device (135) enables the scrubbing column to achieveall of the process steps (PM scrubbing, gas cooling, condensateknockout, and NH₃ scrubbing) while separating the two process waterstreams. This decouples the rate of accumulation of PM and water-solublecontaminants thus allowing for independent control of the concentrationof these contaminants. This separation means (135) can be a stove pipe,a stage separator or the like. A filtration system (190) is included inconduit (2) to remove particulate matter from the first portion ofprocess water from the bottom of the scrubbing vessel (120) prior tobeing returned to the quenching device (100) and the first scrubberdevice (110) via conduits (2). A portion of the process water exitingthe filtration device (190) is withdrawn from the process via (14) androuted to other process sections for example to a gasifier quench orprocess waste water treatment system for disposal. The addition offiltration device (190) provides a means of independently maintainingthe water balance via stream 14 and the accumulation of water solublecontaminants in the process water via stream 13.

While the invention has been described in detail with reference tospecific embodiments thereof, it will become apparent to one skilled inthe art that various changes and modifications can be made, andequivalents employed, without departing from the scope of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An integrated apparatus for conditioning asoot-containing synthesis gas stream, comprising: (a) a quenchingdevice, wherein a raw soot-containing synthesis gas having particulatematter and gaseous contaminants having a temperature of less than 900°F. is introduced and the temperature of the soot-containing synthesisgas is reduced to a temperature ranging from 250-400° F. thereby forminga two-phase stream; (b) a first scrubbing device for receiving thecooled two-phase stream, wherein said device is selected from the groupof Venturi scrubbers, Venturi tubes, orifice plate, atomizers; (c) asecond scrubbing device for receiving the two-phase stream where it isseparated into a liquid-phase fluid contaminated with particulate matterand a gas-phase fluid having water-soluble contaminants at a lowersection of the second scrubbing device; (d) a spray nozzle devicedisposed in an upper section of the second scrubbing device to clean thegas phase fluid by bringing said gas phase fluid in direct contact withcooled process water dispensed through said spray nozzle device, therebyreducing the temperature of the gas phase fluid below the dewtemperature and removing the water-soluble contaminants therefrom,wherein a second line and associated pump route a portion of theliquid-phase fluid contaminated with particulate matter to a filtrationsystem where substantially all of the particulate matter is removedthereby forming a clean process water stream which is routed through aheat exchanger and the temperature is cooled to a temperature rangingfrom ambient to about 150° F. forming said cooled process water which issent to the spray nozzle device; (e) a mist eliminating device above thespray nozzle device in the upper section of the second scrubbing devicefor the removal of substantially all of the remaining entrained waterdroplets in the gas phase fluid rising to the top of the secondscrubbing device thereby producing a cooled and substantially soot freesynthesis gas stream.
 2. The integrated apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising a second spray nozzle device dedicated to clean the misteliminating device.
 3. The integrated apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising at least a first line and associated pump for the removal ofthe liquid-phase fluid contaminated with particulate matter from thelower section of the second scrubbing device.
 4. The integratedapparatus of claim 3, wherein said at least first line and associatedpump recycles at least a portion of the liquid-phase fluid contaminatedwith particulate matter to said quenching device.
 5. The integratedapparatus of claim 2, further comprising directing a portion of theclean process water stream to said second spray nozzle device in orderto clean the mist eliminating device.
 6. The integrated apparatus ofclaim 2, further comprising a heat exchanger disposed downstream of thepump to cool liquid-phase fluid contaminated with particulate matter toa temperature of about 150° F., and splitting the stream into at leastthree portions, wherein one portion is directed to the quenching device,a second portion is directed to a filtration system, and a third portionis directed to the first and/or second spray nozzle device disposed inthe scrubbing device.
 7. The integrated apparatus of claim 3, furthercomprising a physical separation device disposed above an entry point ofa two-phase synthesis fluid stream in the second scrubbing device toseparate the liquid-phase fluid contaminated with particulate matterfrom predominantly clean water in the top portion of the secondscrubbing device.
 8. The integrated apparatus of claim 3, furthercomprising introducing a portion of the liquid-phase fluid contaminatedwith particulate matter to said first scrubbing device.